When Magnus finished his words, Joseph shot him a cold glare which prompted Magnus to stop
talking. He silently buckled up his seatbelt and started the car.
It was not hard to figure our Joseph’s reasons for doing this. Hayden had made a bet with her boss,
Joseph, that in three months, if she couldn’t hit her target as promised, she would have to leave the
company. All the other interviewers present during their interview could be witnesses.
After Hayden had assumed her job post, the company’s sales target did increase bit by bit, but it was
still a far cry to her goals. Two months had passed by just like that, and she was even hospitalized for a
period of time. It was safe to say that she wouldn’t be able to hit her target anytime soon.
Therefore, Joseph decided to hand the anniversary celebration to her to organize, because by doing
this, he could but her two more months of time and the outcome of this huge event would also be
considered her achievement.
The only thing Magnus couldn’t figure out was his boss’ enthusiasm in helping Hayden. Was he being
like that because she had saved Noah?
“Mr. Beckham, didn’t you say that Frank is a reliable driver? Why did you suddenly fire him?”
“He has talked too much.”
Magnus looked a little nervous and didn’t continue asking anymore, because sometimes he did talk
way too much for his own good too.
…
After taking over the planning and preparation work for the company’s anniversary celebration, Riley
who was Hayden’s mentor decided to delegate most of her current work to others so that she could
focus on her preparation. This came as a surprise to her.
“Hayden, there are many employees who specialize in planning and strategizing, yet Mr. Beckham set
his eyes on you for this important job. You must do your best as your performance is something we can
be proud of.”
Riley didn’t teach her a lot of things in the past, but he was now seeing Hayden in a new light, which
made her feel flattered.
“I will do my best.”
In the coming week, she was busy travelling from places to places for her work.
She had never done any preparation or planning work for such a huge event, so he was surveying the
other companies or malls on this matter to increase her confidence and also get a good feel of what
was going on.
“Miss, can I help you?”
Hayden turned around and saw a service personnel in the mall welcoming her with a polite attitude.
However, there was a trace of cautiousness hidden behind her friendly demeanor.
Hayden had taken a lot of photos by using her phone, and this might have caused others to see her as
a competitor from another organization or a representative from the business and commerce bureau.
She immediately pocketed her phone and answered calmly, “I’m just doing some shopping. Oh right,
may I know where is the jewellery shop?”
The service personnel hesitated slightly before pointing in a direction, “That way.”
Hayden thanked her and started to head towards the jewellery shop while ignoring that personnel’s
suspicious gaze.
She had known that her gesture would attract attention, but it was not as if she had come unprepared.
In the jewellery shop, the manager was handling a necklace with his hands draped in gloves. It was a
silver necklace with wavy patterns and there was an emerald-colored gem dangling from it. Some
diamonds framed the gem and it was sparkling with unusual intensity.
“This is indeed sold by our shop.”
“Really?” Hayden tried to suppress her agitated heart, “Is this from your shop?”
“This wavy pattern embroidered on the necklace was one of our signature designs. Besides, look,” The
manager pointed at a joint on the necklace and continued, “The jewelries made by our shop always
have our brand logo engraved on it, albeit a very tiny one. It’s very inconspicuous.”
“Then, can I know are there many people who have bought this necklace?”
The manager shook his head while smiling, “This is high-grade emerald jewellery which has a long
history and carries a hefty price tag. We don’t own this type of jewellery. It was probably brought to us
by one of our customers to customize a jewellery for him or herself.” Hayden had an excited look on
her face when she heard that, “Then, is it possible to find out who was the one who had customized
this?”
“This necklace looks like it has been sold for a very long time. It would take some time for us to find out
the suitor, but please let us try.”
Hayden immediately thanked the manager.
“You’re welcome. You can keep this necklace first. To be honest, this is the first time I have seen such a
high-grade emerald gem with my own eyes although I have been working here for many years. There
should be a record about this necklace somewhere in our inventory.”
After keeping the necklace impeccably and emerging from the jewellery shop, Hayden almost couldn’t
suppress the excitement in her heart.
Five years ago, she had given birth to two children in Nanking, but she was only able to raise Stella by
herself. Her other child had been carried away by the doctor, and all those years she had been looking
out for the whereabouts of that child. The only clue left was this necklace in her possession.
She had snatched this necklace from the neck of a man on that fateful night.
At the thought of the events that transpired on that night six years ago, a shudder still ran through
Hayden’s body.
As her thoughts were still elsewhere, a greenish figure blocked her way.
“Hayden.”
It was a very delicate and petty voice.
Hayden raised her head subconsciously and the moment she saw who was blocking her way, her
expression changed a little.
“It is really you. I thought I am seeing things.”
The woman lifted the corner of her lips and revealed a mocking expression on her face. She said
sarcastically with her arms crossed, “It has been five years since you last came home, and you even
lost touch with the family lately. We all thought that you’ve died somewhere on the streets.”
This woman was none other than Chelsea, who was Hayden’s stepsister. She still had a menacing and
domineering aura about her, and after all those years, she still possessed a wicked tongue that wasn’t
inferior to her old self.
Hayden immediately regained her composure and stared at her coldly, “I haven’t died on the streets yet
unfortunately. Looks like you are disappointed about that.”
“Why should I be disappointed?” Chelsea didn’t give her any face at all as she retorted, “Were you
back to the nation since a long time ago? If father learns of the fact that you don’t even plan to inform of
your family of your whereabouts, I can only imagine how disappointed he would be. He has raised you
as his daughter for so many years, yet you only know how to come and go as you please as if the
house is a hotel.”
“That’s between my dad and me. It shouldn’t have anything to do with you.”
“I am the eldest daughter of the Downey family, so of course I have to care about everything that
happens in the family.” Chelsea jerked up her chin and looked at Hayden with a sidelong glance, “Who
knows who have you fooled around with when you were overseas? You even said that you were
furthering your studies overseas while you didn’t even finish your university courses here. I still can’t
believe that you are spouting such lies in front of father.”
Chelsea’s hideous words prompted Hayden to clench her fist. She let out a cold laugh, “If I didn’t really
further my studies and just fooled around with men, wouldn’t that work in your favor? You would have
one less competitor for the inheritance rights of the family, and I can even imagine your mother and you
smiling in your sleep.”
Chelsea’s face became deathly pale upon hearing that. She warned, “Don’t ridicule us without any
proof.”
“Whether I’m ridiculing you or not, you are well aware of the truth.” Hayden said threateningly with an
icy cold expression, “Whether I go back to you guys or not is up to me. Since we don’t have the same
mother, you should stop pretending to be my real sister and reprimanding me. This is not the old days
anymore; you can’t bully me anymore just because you have the backing of your mother.” Her last
sentence sounded like she was scolding Chelsea.
Chelsea immediately looked hideous, “Who are you scolding now? You…”
“A good dog never blocks the way.”
Hayden simply brushed past her without reservation and caused Chelsea to lose her balance. Chelsea
could only stomp the ground with fury as she said, “Hayden, just wait and see. If you have the guts,
don’t ever come back to us again.”
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